Bestiary
Deathling Spiders All sorts of strange creatures inhabit the world of Reos. Most are delightfully similar to what you'd find on Earth, while some creatures are spooky and somewhat eldritch in nature. Though the name can seem a bit funny, humor is the last thing on your mind if you encounter one of these. Deathling spiders have no known life span and can live indefinitely if not killed by outside causes. Deathling spiders are created when the skull of an animal or human is allowed to fester and rot near a source of dark or death magic. After enough time has passed, the skull sprouts legs and fangs and eyes and is ready to kill. The picture to the right is an example of a Deathling Spider grown out of a human skull. Domesticating Domesticated Deathling Spiders are common among novice magicians and alchemists. Tamed spiders aren't so much domesticated as they are created or grown, typically from the skulls of smaller animals such as mice, or for the more ambitious summoners, dogs or cats. Practiced and clever casters can find more practical uses for these creatures; telepathic magic can be used to transform the Spider into the smallest of spies; powerful Dreamcasters can perform ritualistic sacrifices using specifically bred Deathling Spiders to send dream assassins after their foes. Nightmares Nightmares are manifestations of extreme terror and death. Nightmares come into existence when people are murdered in their sleep or if someone has a ''really ''bad nightmare. They have no physical shape or form and have little influence on the real world; however, the longer a Nightmare is allowed to feed on fear, the stronger its power and ability to influence the real world grows. There are two classifications of Nightmare: spectres, the younger weaker Nightmares; and boggarts, Nightmares that have gained the power to kill in the real world. Methods of Disposal Different cultures have different methods of exorcising these spooky spirits. The Theamosii place great faith in childhood relics such as teddy bears or other stuffed animals, blankies, even dream-catchers - any object a child has spent a sizable amount of time with will enable a Theamosii Dreamcharmer to banish spectres and some of the weaker boggarts. For the more stronger Nightmares, a special mixture of salt and iron powder will weaken the creature enough for the Dreamcharmer to bind it to a dream-catcher; boggarts that are strong enough can resist banishment and slaughter careless Dreamcharmers, so most don't take chances. Kyse , the Kyse people being naturally more warlike and territorial, use "Blessed" weapons and tools to delve into the same layer of reality the spectres and boggarts live in in order to fight and destroy them. The Dark Figure Those who consume the illicit drug that is powdered ashberry often describe seeing the silhouette of a Dark Figure, short in stature but incredibly powerful. None have been able to describe exact detials of what this Figure looks like, though users of the drug report feeling an impending sense of doom and overwhelming despair the closer they are to it. Powerful Theamosii Dreamcasters have attempted to communicate with the Figure, but most come away from the experience remembering nothing at all or with their minds completely and utterly broken. Shenies Shenies are shadow genies, a race that live inside slimy, moldy jars that have sat and decayed for decades. Attempts to clean this jar will summon the shenie, a powerful, slimy shadowy genie that will grant a single wish to the freer and then attempt to kill everything in sight. The longer a jar has been molding away, the more powerful the Shenie. Attempts to farm these kinds of creatures have always ended in very stinky breeding rooms and no Shenie.